The question of whether God can die is an important theological issue. The Bible teaches that God is eternal and immortal, which means He cannot die. However, some people have wondered if Jesus’ death on the cross was equivalent to God dying. Here is an overview of what the Bible teaches about God’s nature and Jesus’ death.
God’s Nature as Eternal and Immortal
The Bible repeatedly affirms that God is eternal, meaning He exists forever and has no beginning or end (Psalm 90:2; 1 Timothy 1:17). God is also described as immortal, meaning He cannot die (1 Timothy 6:16). These divine attributes set God apart from all created beings, including humans, who have a beginning and will eventually die (Ecclesiastes 3:20). As the eternal, immortal Creator and Sustainer of life, God exists perpetually without any threat of death.
Scripture emphasizes God’s eternality and immortality as fundamental to His identity and character. Death has no power or authority over God. He transcends the human experience of mortality. While humans age and deteriorate, God remains forever young and vibrant (Isaiah 40:28). While humans rely on God for life and breath, God has life in Himself (John 5:26). The eternal nature of God provides comfort and assurance that He will remain forever the same and will fulfill all His promises (Psalm 102:27; Hebrews 13:8).
Jesus as Fully God and Fully Human
A key biblical teaching is that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human. As the second person of the Trinity, Jesus shares the divine attributes of eternality and immortality. Jesus proclaimed, “I am the first and the last” (Revelation 1:17) and “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Jesus possesses the same eternal nature as God the Father and the Holy Spirit.
At the same time, the Son of God also became fully human when He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary (Luke 1:35). As a man, Jesus experienced human limitations, including mortality. The divine attribute of immortality was temporarily surrendered when Jesus took on humanity (Philippians 2:5-8). The incarnation of Christ — God becoming man — is essential to God’s plan of salvation.
The Death of Jesus on the Cross
The voluntary death of Jesus on the cross was necessary to pay the penalty for human sin and rebellion against God (Romans 6:23). Only someone who was simultaneously human and divine could substitute for humankind and die as an atoning sacrifice for sin. As a mortal man, Jesus could experience death on behalf of humanity. As the eternal Son of God, Jesus’ death had infinite value and worth to pay for all sin.
When Jesus offered up His spirit and died on the cross, only His human nature experienced death and separation from God (Matthew 27:46). His divine nature remained immortal, sinless, and in complete unity with the Father and Spirit. The eternal Son of God did not actually die, even though Jesus the man experienced a real physical death.
After His crucifixion, Jesus rose from the dead with an imperishable glorified body (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). His resurrection affirms Christ’s power over mortality and eternal deity as the living God. The fact that Jesus resurrected Himself also proves that only His human nature died while His divine nature remained alive.
Implications of Christ’s Death
The willing death of Christ on the cross has profound implications. For one, it demonstrates the depth of God’s love in sacrificing His Son to save sinners who would otherwise justly perish (John 3:16; Romans 5:8). It also exemplifies humility in the Son of God leaving His heavenly glory to suffer in humility (Philippians 2:5-8). Furthermore, Christ’s sacrifice makes complete atonement for sins (Hebrews 9:11-14) and reconciles believing humans to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
While Jesus’ death was unlike any other human death in its redemptive purpose and value, it was still a real death of His human body and nature. But Scripture affirms that God the Father did not die when Jesus gave up His spirit, nor did Jesus cease to exist according to His divine nature. The death of Christ was an instrumental part of God’s sovereign plan of redemption, rather than indicative of mortality in God.
Trusting God’s Immortality and Eternal Life
Death has no power over God. Believers can find great comfort and assurance in the unchanging, immortal nature of God. While humans are fragile and susceptible to death, God remains eternally constant as the source and sovereign of life. As Paul proclaimed, “What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable… For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:42, 53). Those who put their faith in Christ share in His eternal victory over death.
Though Jesus died as a sacrifice for sins according to His human nature, He now lives forevermore according to His divine nature (Revelation 1:18). All who believe in Christ have the hope of resurrection from the dead and eternal life with God just as Jesus was raised from the dead to eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). By taking on human flesh, Christ opened the door for sinners to be clothed with immortality in Him.